This invention relates generally to clothing and particularly to unitary garments designed for full or partial coverage of the torso.
Unitary garments such as women's bathing suits, exercise suits, and leotards, are popular because of their ease of wear and use, and for other reasons of style. They are often made of knit and elastic materials and are tight fitting. As a result, they can be difficult to put on and take off, especially when wet. In addition, every visit that a wearer makes to the bathroom requires a complete removal of the outfit, and subsequent re-dressing. This problem becomes more annoying when the outfit is worn, alone or under other clothing, for long periods of time or even all day, as happens frequently given the multiple, simultaneous uses to which such unitary garments are put by today's wearers. Such uses include cross-training training (biking/hiking/swimming workouts) and all-day outings. A wearer does not want to keep getting dressed and re-dressed all day. Further, the changing and bathroom facilities in exercise-oriented venues, such as state parks and beaches, often are not sanitary, convenient or available. One solution that women have adopted has been to wear two piece outfits. However, by their nature, two piece outfits do not provide the full torso coverage and sleek, utilitarian lines of a one-piece garment.
Unitary garments are also useful in infant's and small children's clothing, where full torso coverage is preferred. Unfortunately, diapering and frequent bathroom visits, necessities with small children, are rendered difficult with unitary garments. Many one piece children's outfits have snaps at the crotch. However, snaps can be difficult to attach when the child is squirming. Also, snaps are rarely, if ever, found on an infant's or child's bathing suit.
One-piece bathing suits having removable portions to facilitate dressing and bathroom visits are well known in the prior art. However, none of the designs teach truly convenient or inconspicuous fastening mechanisms. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,083,316 (1992) to Ellen M. Kuehner, entitled Garment Structure, provides a decorative, interchangeable, removable crotch piece to effect ornamental definition while facilitating bodily functions. While the garment taught by Kuehner provides the sleek, stylish look of a unitary garment, it provides the attachment of the crotch piece at the pelvic bone, where attachment is somewhat inconvenient. Further, the garment described by Kuehner does not attempt to conceal the area of crotch access.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,857,600 (1958) to Gerald C. Finn, entitled Women's Bathing Suit, provides for concealed, releasable attachment of a crotch piece, inconveniently, again, at the pelvic bone at the front of a bathing suit. Finally, Finn also teaches auxiliary detachable securing of the crotch piece to the skirt or to an elongated restraining girdle band inside the front of the suit. These features render the garment design complicated, expensive to manufacture, and uncomfortable to wear.
One-piece suits consisting of a torso portion and a seat portion wrappable between the legs and fastenable about the body have been suggested, but none have taught both convenient and inconspicuous fastening mechanisms. U.S. Pat. No. 1,954,526 (1934) to E. Holahan, entitled Bathing Outfit, shows a suit consisting of a torso portion and a seat portion wrappable between the legs and held together at the hips with buttons and snaps and at the waist by a somewhat complicated arrangement. Side straps button at the waist in the back of the suit; then an extension of the seat portion, passed under the buttoned side straps, is buttoned onto the side straps; and, finally, the shoulder straps button over the seat extension onto the side straps. U.S. Pat. No. 2,060,689 (1936) to D. Read, entitled Bathing Suit, shows a wrap suit which uses front and back waist hook and eye closures. In use, a wearer wraps the suit between the legs, and hooks the seat portion to itself in the front under the suit (an awkward hand action), and then hooks tapered lateral projections in the back at the waist. It could not be completely assembled and subsequently put on and removed as a conventional unitary garment.
A number of wrap suits attach by ties. U.S. Pat. No. 2,567,442 (1951) to Alex Mitchell, entitled Bathing Garment, shows a suit secured to the body by ties at the neck, sides and waist. Ties also attach bathing suits in Design Pat. Nos. 138,422 (1944) (also to Alex Mitchell), 239,667 (1976) (to Eleanor Bouchard), and 249,096 (1978) (to Catalina Fowler). U.S. Pat. No. 2,412,502 (1946) to Bertice Garrison shows play suits that attach in the front and back with ties. Ties, while relatively simple and secure during sedentary use or light exercise, are lumpy to lie on, often require fussing to make them look right, occasionally tickle, and, during periods of heavy exercise, can come undone. Further, the bulkiness of knots take away from the sleek lines of a one-piece garment.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,561,783 (1951) to Marian Burr, is an undergarment (not intended for outerwear) designed for great snugness of fit and having a seat portion wrappable between the legs and fastenable with small hooks and eyes about the body to provide "give" in stress spots in a very tight-fitting garment. The garment is shown to have a complicated and expensive manufacture, being made of many pieces of fabric, some of which are cut straight with the cloth and others are cut on the bias to provide differential areas of support and stretch. Not intended to be made in today's active-wear materials, it could not be put on and removed as a conventional unitary garment.
Some designs suggest solving the above-described problems by creating a one-piece suit out of a two piece suit. U.S. Pat. No. 5,083,316 (1992), mentioned above, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,656,669 (1987) to Donna Beard, entitled Versatile Bathing Suit, both show a conventional two piece bathing suit apparently changed into a one piece suit by fastening an additional band of material onto the bra and panties of the two piece suit.
None of the above designs teach truly convenient, strong, secure, and inconspicuous fastening mechanisms.
It is an object of the invention to provide a garment with easy inconspicuous access to the crotch area while retaining the sleek, stylish look and easy functionality and operability of a one-piece garment.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a garment that is convenient and secure to wear, and easy and inexpensive to manufacture.
It is a further object of the invention to provide an infant and children's garment that is convenient to put on and remove.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a unitary garment arranged to be put on and removed, at the choice of the wearer, as an assembled or disassembled garment.